Yale vs Indiana

[exploring1]

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I would appreciate thoughts on Yale vs Indiana. Some background

Interests: Unsure but interests include competitive specialties in surgery as well as hemonc.

Geography: Ties to both regions with slight preference for Northeast

Additional factors: interested in research as part of studies.

All else equal, I would.choose Yale. But thoughts on three questions would be helpful.

1. What level of merit aid would be significant enough to affect the choice in your opinion? (Assume i will be taking loans but also have resources to pay for up to one half of total cost).
2. What are the most significant differences in culture that should weigh on my comparison.
3. Should I be asking so.e additional questions?

I appreciate any thoughts and apologies if I am using this forum incorrectly.

 

[riv_jordan]

Congrats on great options! To answer your questions:

1. It's not so much the amount of merit aid as it is the overall cost difference. After you get all your financial aid and merit scholarships from both schools, calculate/estimate what the cost difference would be across four years. If Yale comes out to be more expensive, the question becomes how much are you willing to pay for the Yale premium. I think, given your interests in a competitive specialty, it's reasonable to be willing to pay more for Yale. What your price is will depend on your goals and debt-comfortable level. For me, the absolute hardline is private loans. If the difference between to schools is having to take out private loans or not, I will avoid private loans at all cost. But if the more expensive school is still affordable without private loans, then I may be willing to pay the premium. But if Indiana gives the option to graduate debt free... well that's tough to pass up. I'd wait to hear back from FA and merit from both schools. Yale offers need based aid so depending on your circumstances, it could be just as expensive or cheaper than Indiana.
2. I don't know much about the culture at either school but I suspect they are very different. Yale is a top 10 medical school while Indiana is a strong but not nearly as glamorous institution. I suspect at Yale you'll see more students interested in highly competitive and/or academic specialties. Taking a 5th year for research is extremely common there now. They also have an untraditional curriculum known as the Yale system which means students have a lot more flexibility (some feel too much) in shaping their academic trajectories. Indiana is a more traditional med school in comparison. I think the two schools select for very different student bodies.
3. You should learn more about the school curriculums (again Yale has a very unique system that doesn't work for everyone), research opportunities, where students tend to match, what the surrounding city is like (New Haven is very different from Indianapolis)

 

[exploring1]

Congrats on great options! To answer your questions:

1. It's not so much the amount of merit aid as it is the overall cost difference. After you get all your financial aid and merit scholarships from both schools, calculate/estimate what the cost difference would be across four years. If Yale comes out to be more expensive, the question becomes how much are you willing to pay for the Yale premium. I think, given your interests in a competitive specialty, it's reasonable to be willing to pay more for Yale. What your price is will depend on your goals and debt-comfortable level. For me, the absolute hardline is private loans. If the difference between to schools is having to take out private loans or not, I will avoid private loans at all cost. But if the more expensive school is still affordable without private loans, then I may be willing to pay the premium. But if Indiana gives the option to graduate debt free... well that's tough to pass up. I'd wait to hear back from FA and merit from both schools. Yale offers need based aid so depending on your circumstances, it could be just as expensive or cheaper than Indiana.
2. I don't know much about the culture at either school but I suspect they are very different. Yale is a top 10 medical school while Indiana is a strong but not nearly as glamorous institution. I suspect at Yale you'll see more students interested in highly competitive and/or academic specialties. Taking a 5th year for research is extremely common there now. They also have an untraditional curriculum known as the Yale system which means students have a lot more flexibility (some feel too much) in shaping their academic trajectories. Indiana is a more traditional med school in comparison. I think the two schools select for very different student bodies.
3. You should learn more about the school curriculums (again Yale has a very unique system that doesn't work for everyone), research opportunities, where students tend to match, what the surrounding city is like (New Haven is very different from Indianapolis)

Thank you!

 

[chilly_md]

You said you had ties to the areas. Biggest difference between the 2 would be Midwest vs true Northeast. You'd have to probably have to have IU be 250k cheaper at the main campus and then consider other, personal factors at that point. Hard to pass up Yale regardless.